With Russell Wilson at the helm, the Seahawks’ future looks bright

The 2012 season ended with a loss, but it was no failure. The Seahawks, who entered the preseason with no clear-cut quarterback and weren’t expected to be much better than their 7-9 record in 2011, surprised the football world with their rookie passer and ended up streaking to the second round of the NFL playoffs after finishing their regular schedule 11-5.

Russell Wilson walks the sidelines during the first half Sunday. (David Goldman/AP Photo)

Not all of the thanks can go to QB Russell Wilson, but he certainly was a huge part of Seattle’s turnaround. Having fallen to the third round of April’s draft due to his small size, Wilson steadily improved all year and became one of the front-runners for Offensive Rookie of the Year.

And with a roster full of young players who have made surprising impacts on the field this season, the Seahawks appear to have a bright future ahead of them.

“I was definitely disappointed,” Wilson told Q13-TV after Sunday’s heartbreaking 30-28 loss in Atlanta. “But, right before I walked into the tunnel coming into the locker room, I just realized how excited I am for our future. We have an unbelievable football team, and unbelievable coaching staff, and the best fans in the National Football League.”

What do you think of Russell Wilson and the Seahawks?

I am so pumped! Wilson is awesome and the Seahawks will be unstoppable.

Wilson is great, but the guys around him still need improvement.

I'm not convinced, though Wilson led the Seahawks on a great run.

Y'know, Wilson and the rest still have lots of room to improve.

I could still tell Wilson was a rookie, and I'm pretty skeptical about all of it.

The Seahawks started slowly, limiting Wilson to 20 to 25 passing attempts through most of the first half of the season. After eight games, Seattle was just 4-4 despite wild, come-from-behind victories over Green Bay and New England. Yet things had turned around with the Seahawks’ close road loss in Detroit, when Wilson completed 71.4 percent of his passes and threw for 236 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the 28-24 loss.

Head coach Pete Carroll put his trust in Wilson and opened up the playbook for his 22-year-old rookie (soon to turn 23), and Seattle started winning. Wilson looked good in victories over the Vikings and Jets at home, and had a gem of a game in Miami — he was 21-of-27 for 224 passing yards and two TDs — though the Seahawks lost it.

Then came the big test: a road game in Chicago when the Bears were at the top of the NFC North. Wilson led two late touchdown drives — a 97-yarder in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, and an 80-yard drive in overtime — as he led the Seahawks 23-17 over the Bears. But he also showed his skill on the ground, scrambling for 71 yards and avoiding sacks every which way.

From then on, led by Wilson, the Seahawks were unstoppable. They destroyed the Cardinals 58-0 in Seattle, and backup QB Matt Flynn finally got some snaps for most of the second half. They demolished Buffalo Bills 50-17 in Toronto, and Wilson rushed for 92 yards and scored three TDs with his feet.

They stunned the 49ers 42-13 at CenturyLink Field, clinching a spot in the NFL playoffs as a Wild Card team, as Wilson went 15-of-21 with four touchdown passes. When the Seahawks beat the Rams 20-13 at the CLink to close out the regular season, they were just a half-game behind first-place San Francisco in the NFC West and were on a five-game winning streak.

In the first round of the playoffs, facing another star rookie QB in Washington’s Robert Griffin III, Wilson shined and led Seattle from a 14-0 deficit to a 24-14 victory over the Redskins. With Indianpolis’ Andrew Luck’s first-round playoff loss, Wilson was suddenly the last rookie quarterback left in the postseason.

And on Sunday, against the Falcons in Atlanta, Wilson shined again — though the Seahawks fell short. He led a near-miracle comeback as Seattle rallied from a 20-0 halftime deficit, scoring three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to take a 28-27 lead with 31 seconds remaining. Atlanta hit a 49-yard, game-winning field goal, but that didn’t diminish Wilson’s performance.

Overcoming from his team’s offensive miscues in the first half, Wilson finished Sunday with a season-high (and career-high) 385 yards on 24-of-36 passing. He had three touchdowns — two through the air and one on the ground — and also led the Seahawks in rushing with 60 yards. His 109.1 passer rating was better than Atlanta QB Matt Ryans, and his one interception came only on his unsuccessful Hail Mary at the end of the game.

“I think you saw how good we can be,” tight end Zach Miller told Q13. “We’re one play from being in the next round.

“Russell Wilson was huge today — with his feet, making plays, scrambling, and then coming through in the clutch when we needed him most in the third and fourth quarters to put drives together that were just huge. So, he’s our franchise quarterback and he’s only going to get better in his career.”

Russell Wilson scrambles for a touchdown during the fourth quarter Sunday in Atlanta. (David Goldman/AP Photo)